Parallel wave fronts are incident on an opening in a barrier. Which diagram shows the configuration of wave fronts and barrier opening that will result in the greatest diffraction of the waves passing through the opening? [Assume all diagrams are drawn to the same scale.]

It is given that, parallel wave fronts are incident on an opening in a barrier. Diffraction of the waves depends on the size of opening and the wavelength of light used as per the following relation :

\(y\propto\dfrac{\lambda}{a}\)

where,

\(\lambda\) is the wavelength of light

and a is the opening size (from fig)

So, it is clear that diffraction of waves depends directly on the wavelength of light and inversely on the size of opening.

Hence, the correct option is (2).

snehashish65 snehashish65 · Answer 2 · 2022-02-09T07:37:09-05:00

The greatest diffraction of the waves will take place through the barrier having a smaller opening. Hence, option (2) is correct.

What are Wave Fronts?

The wave-fronts are the imaginary curves that represent the points with equal phases. In 3-D, a wave-front is a surface of a wave vibrating in a medium.

Since the parallel wave-fronts are incident on an opening in a barrier. Diffraction of the waves depends on the size of the opening and the wavelength of light used as per the following relation,

\(y \propto \dfrac{ \lambda}{d}\)

here,

\(\lambda\) is the wavelength of light.

d is the size of the opening.

It is clear that the diffraction of waves depends directly on the wavelength of light and inversely on the size of the opening.

Thus, we can conclude that the greatest diffraction of the waves will take place through the barrier having a smaller opening. Hence, option (2) is correct.

Learn more about the diffraction here:https://brainly.com/question/1812927